Portable communications receivers, such as radios, cellular and cordless telephones, pagers and the like, are becoming increasingly popular. In many instances it is desirable to provide apparatus on the receiver to supply the operator with visual messages that include graphics and printed information. The problem is that prior art apparatus providing these functions require relatively high electrical power and require a great amount of area to be sufficiently large to produce useful and visually perceivable information.
In the prior art, for example, it is common to provide visual apparatus utilizing liquid crystals, directly viewed light emitting diodes, etc. These produce very large and cumbersome displays that greatly increase the size of the receiver and require relatively large amounts of power.
In one instance, the prior art includes a scanning mirror to produce a visually perceivable image but again this requires relatively large amounts of power and is very complicated and sensitive to shock. Also, the scanning mirror causes vibration in the unit which substantially reduces visual comfort and acceptability.
Apparatus incorporating a miniature virtual image display, which solves most of the problems mentioned above, is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,198, entitled "WAVEGUIDE VIRTUAL IMAGE DISPLAY", issued Jun. 29, 1993. Typically, the products in which the miniature virtual image display is incorporated are small hand-held devices. Many of the proposed applications would benefit from some interaction with the display.
Typically, in portable electronic receivers, such as radios, cellular and cordless telephones, pagers and the like, numbers to be dialed or functions to be programmed into the receiver are input by way of a manual keyboard sometimes accompanied by a small display which illustrates the number being dialed or the function being programmed. Because of finger size and visual perception, the keyboard and its display are often the limiting factor in determining the size of the receiver. Further, the keyboard and direct display require considerable volume for buttons (and space for movement), display module and associated electronics.
Accordingly, it is a purpose of the present invention to provide a new and improved manually controllable cursor in a virtual image.
It is a further purpose of the present invention to provide a new and improved manually controllable cursor in a virtual image for use in small hand held devices and which is controllable with the hand holding the device.
It is a still further purpose of the present invention to provide a new and improved manually controllable cursor in a virtual image including manual controls that are substantially smaller than any prior art and which do not impose a size limitation on associated equipment.